"Losing them is painful for us, and difficult." Eddie Howe said that about Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali. He may be saying it about Bruno Guimarães before August is out.
Arsenal have gone back to Newcastle with an improved £70 million ($93.2m) offer for the Brazilian midfielder after a £55 million ($73m) bid was knocked back. Reports suggest Guimarães has already agreed personal terms with the Gunners. Newcastle are running out of reasons — and leverage — to hold on.
A summer that keeps getting worse on Tyneside
Let's put this in context. Gordon signed a five-year deal with Barcelona. Tonali went to Tottenham for a club-record £100 million. Alexander Isak left for Liverpool last September. Newcastle finished 12th in the Premier League last season and missed European football entirely. Now their most influential midfielder is being courted by the reigning English champions.
Howe, speaking after a 1-1 preseason draw with Gateshead, tried to stay measured: "I don't know what's going to happen with Bruno's future. That's for other people to speculate about, but also conversations that I'm not part of." That's not the language of a manager who feels in control of his squad.
Guimarães joined from Lyon in January 2022 and made 195 appearances for the club. He was the heartbeat of their Carabao Cup win in 2024-25 — the trophy that ended a 70-year wait for silverware. Walking away from that kind of legacy isn't easy. But walking toward the Premier League title holders apparently is.
What this means for the market
Arsenal landing Guimarães would harden their status as genuine title contenders. He's a box-to-box midfielder who can control tempo and impose himself physically — exactly what they need in a long campaign. Their title odds would tighten further. Newcastle's, already priced long after last season's collapse, would drift further into irrelevance.
Howe insists he's had "great conversations" with Guimarães and called him "a great player, a great person." That warmth doesn't hide the reality: Newcastle keep building something, and their best players keep leaving for something bigger. At £70 million, Arsenal may have finally named a price the Magpies can't refuse.
